Weathering the Storm
by beccatt
Summary: Challenge response - Set in season 6, post Combat. Lois is in trouble yet again, and Clark has to come to the rescue - except this time he isn't able to hide his abilities from her. What happens when Lois finds out his secret? WIP
1. Chapter 1

Weathering the Storm

By Bellarata

A/N - Ok so I am seriously new to this fandom and for some reason, felt compelled to write a fic. This is a challenge/fic request response to something posted by Acejournalist82 on the Kryptonsite forum. These were the requirements

_Lois and Clark trapped Smallville High due to tornado warning._

Chapter 1

Putting her lock picking tools away, Lois quickly opened the side door to Smallville High and slipped inside. There was a story here, she just knew it and she was going to find out what it was. And besides, this was bound to be less dangerous than her last assignment - when she'd almost got her ass kicked in a cage by some Gigantore wannabe. She was still fuzzy on the details of how she'd escaped that particular nightmare - but she figured some things were better left a little hazy around the edges. She didn't want to think that she owed Smallville yet another thank you - just because he had a habit of turning up when she needed help. She had even accused him of having a hero complex, since he was always around when there was trouble.

He had laughed it off.

The empty halls of Smallville High brought back some repressed memories of her very short lived attendance of this very establishment and she shuddered in response. God, she had hated high school. Pimple faced, horny teens were the stuff of nightmares and she thanked her lucky stars that her time at Smallville High had been so short. Not that her stint in college had lasted for much longer, but at least she had been able to pass that time in a somewhat alcoholic daze - a luxury not afforded to her as a high school senior.

Sneaking into the school's gymnasium, Lois double checked to make sure she had her camera. After learning the hard way more times than she cared to think about, she had finally broke down and bought a real camera - a camera that wouldn't let her down right when she needed it. It had set her back some serious green but she figured it would be worth it when she came up with the scoop of the century with the pictures to back it up.

Not that this was bound to be the scoop of the century but hey, a girl had to earn a living.

Rumor had it that the school gymnasium was haunted and Lois was bound and determined to expose that rumor as a fraud. Not that she didn't believe in ghosts - she did. Maybe. But this had teenage prank written all over it and Chloe's replacement at the Torch wouldn't know a story if it turned around and bit her in her very large and unfortunate buttocks.

Lois scoped out her hiding spot and settled in for the long haul. It was bound to be a night of boredom but her interest had been at least slightly piqued. Every Thursday night for the past month, strange things had occurred in this very gymnasium and she was determined to find out what it was - and who exactly was behind it. The previous Thursday, a tower of folding chairs had been formed all the way up to the ceiling, smack dab in the middle of the gym floor - precariously balanced like an intricate House of Cards. When the school janitor had entered the gym the next morning, the tower of chairs had come crashing down around him, rendering him with a nasty concussion. The week before that, a cryptic message had been burned into the wood gym floor. Definite Wall of Weird material and Lois was looking forward to uncovering the truth and putting the haunting rumors to rest.

From her place beneath the bleachers, Lois had the perfect view of the gym. Now all she needed was for the culprit to rear its completely corporeal head and she'd snap a few pics and be on her way. Regardless of any supernatural rumors, She'd bet her last sports bra that this was yet another Smallville's misguided meteor freak teenage angst situation, using whatever freak power they had to send a misguided message to the ones who had wronged them. It couldn't be anymore cliché' if it wanted to be.

"Come on," Lois muttered impatiently. "I've got things I need to do." A noise caught her attention and she quickly took the lens cap off of her new Canon, holding her breath in anticipation.

The loud peal of her cell phone had her jumping in response, and she fumbled to answer before it gave her position and presence away. It was so typical - she could remember to be a good girl and silence her cellphone in a movie theater but put her in a stealth, undercover situation and her cellphone was completely forgotten. She sighed heavily as caller ID showed Chloe's number.

She snapped open her phone and brought it to her ear. "Uh, I'm kinda busy right now, Chloe."

"Lois, where are you?"

"Did you hear the part where I'm kind of busy? I can't talk right now," Lois whispered quietly, the noise from the hallway creeping closer. "I'll call you later."

"Lois, don't you dare hang up on me!" The frantic edge to her cousin's voice made Lois pause before pressing the end button.

"What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"Exactly where I told you. I'm in Smallville trying to uncover the secret of the creepy gym caper, which - I might add - might be a little bit easier if I wasn't talking on the phone."

"Lois, listen to me, there is a tornado headed straight for you. You have to get someplace safe - "

Lois stared down at her phone in horror as the line went dead. The noise she had heard previously had gotten louder and she belatedly realized it wasn't coming from the hallway at all, but was the loud drone of Mother Nature unleashing her fists of fury on whatever was unfortunate enough to be in her path.

"How do I get myself into these messes?" Lois had to ask herself as she quickly jumped to her feet. She needed to get into the basement and she needed to do it fast, if the now deafening noise was any indication. She couldn't think it meant anything good that the noise was growing so loud in such a short time.

Reaching the metal door to the basement, Lois gave a cry of frustration as resistance met her efforts to turn the knob. "Oh, this isn't even funny," Lois cried, fumbling through her bag for the lock picking tools she had used earlier. Hands shaking too hard to be of much use, Lois dropped the lock pick in her haste and cursed herself. Quickly scooping it off the ground, she went to work on the lock. The first sounds of gut wrenching metal shrieking told her that the tornado was traveling at too fast of a pace to be normal. Desperation had her clumsy and the pick fell from her fingers once more.

Lois was not one to easily give into panic - but the screeching sounds of mother nature at her most brutal growing louder by the second - followed by a quick look out the hall window told her exactly what she didn't want to know - that part of the school had already been pancaked to the ground, a pile of rubble all that was left behind.

She could see the tornado approaching, the building she was in creaking in protest at the fierce pressure of the wind.

"Dammit Lane, get it together!" she chastised herself, making an attempt at a calming breath. Any bit of calm was futile however, fear making her a victim of her own ineptness. This is how she was going to die - victim to a freak tornado. It just wasn't right. Palming the lock pick once more, Lois turned to the door that held salvation behind its metal properties. She was no slouch at picking locks but adrenalin was rendering her useless and she cursed herself. Again. If she could just get this door open, she just might be ok.

Shattering glass had Lois ducking for cover, wind screeching through the empty hallways. She barely felt the sting as glass shards found her flesh and she made one last ditch effort to get the door open, tears of frustration running down her cheeks. She could see the approaching tornado just outside the hall, a dark, angry funnel and for just a second, she almost imagined she saw a face emerge in the churning debris.

She was going to die. She wasn't like Lana, she didn't have the luxury of a two ton pickup to protect her. She had nothing but a locked door that separated her from safety.

And wasn't that just the story of her life?

The lock pick was ripped from her hands by the fierce wind and Lois slid down the length of the door, bracing herself against the door jam and watched with ever growing horror and dread as the swirling tendrils of mother nature came closer; tears being plucked from her eyes before they had even had a chance to take the plunge down her face.

The force of the wind was making it more and more difficult to keep herself anchored and time almost seemed to stand still as she waited for the tornado's full body to strike, praying for a last minute miracle, trying to psyche the tornado into veering its path

"Ok, Smallville, now would be a good time for you to sweep in to play the hero routine," Lois muttered, muscles becoming fatigued from the force of keeping herself from blowing away. Any last glimmer of hope quickly fled as Lois felt herself slipping from her perch, the wind drawing her in like she weighed no more than a feather.

She was going to die.

And just when she could do nothing else except accept her fate, Lois felt herself scooped up as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, her back slamming into what felt like a brick wall.

Lois gasped, her head snapping around to identify her savior.

And damned if it wasn't Smallville.

He had a look in his eyes that Lois had never seen before - serious, determined. Suddenly realizing just what he had done for her, surely sacrificing his own life along with hers, she yelled at him. "What are you doing? Are you crazy? Now we're both going to die!"

Clark held her gaze for the very briefest of seconds and Lois felt his muscles tighten beneath her palms.

And then the unexpected happened.

With an ease that was nothing even close to normal, Clark pushed through the wind, Lois firmly in his arms. With one hand, she watched Clark rip the door off its hinges that had previously denied her passage like it weighed absolutely nothing - and a second later, they were in the basement, the wind screeching above them in complete fury.

Lois could do nothing more than blink as her mind scrambled to give her an explanation of what had just occurred.

"uh… not that I'm complaining, but what just happened here?"

The capable, yet determined look in Clark's eyes was one that Lois had never seen, this wasn't 'just' the bumbling farm boy that Lois had tucked into a nice little safe box in her mind, this was the real Clark. Although somehow she realized that she had known that Clark was more than he appeared all along - she just hadn't wanted to admit it.

"Clark? Hello? Earth to Clark," Lois prompted, the look in her savior's eyes making her strangely nervous and Lois was beginning to get the feeling that an internal battle was being waged.

Clark stared at her for precious seconds longer before finally speaking. "Listen, Lois, there is something you should know -"

Whatever he had been about to say was torn away by the savage strike of the wind, the roof above them ripped away with such ease it was terrifying. Lois' eyes widened in fear as she instinctively reached for the boy - no, man- who had already saved her once tonight.

And then they were swept up into the belly of the beast.

To be continued

Feedback would be awesome!!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N -Thank you to Phnx for reviewing!! It is so appreciated, you have no idea.

Also, I want to apologize for the formatting, it's supposed to have indentations but those got lost in the translation somewhere. Please overlook any typos, I don't have a beta and i'm not the best proof reader!

Chapter 2

And then they were swept up into the belly of the beast.

Lois felt like she was being ripped into a million different pieces - the sheer force of the tornado trying its damnedest to rip her from the arms that shouldn't possibly be still wrapped around her. Her lungs refused to work, her chest muscles no match for the churning wind pounding at her from every angle and the arms of steel banded around her torso. This time, she was sure she was going to die - being in the eye of a tornado wasn't something you just bounce back from.

Well, except if you were Lana.

A thought popped into her mind and she wrenched her head around to look at Smallville. Maybe it wasn't the two ton pickup that had saved her - maybe it was something a little bit more country bumpkin. Lois regretted looking into his eyes because she saw something that managed to scare the bejeeses out of her - fear.

Yep, they were going to die.

Darkness was dampening the edges of her consciousness, the lack of oxygen taking its toll as the tornado waged on around them.

And suddenly - they were free. It was as if the tornado had been sucked into the earth because it was just…gone.

Lois threw her arms around Clark's neck as they plunged right back to where they had been scooped up from, the ground coming up to meet them at a terrifying rate. She wasn't even conscious of the large gasps of air she was finally able to draw into her lungs, the plunge from what had to be at least a twenty story drop terrifying her more than the tornado had - if that was even possible. How much fear could one body take before it completely shut down? Lois had a feeling she was about find out.

She clamped her eyes shut, not wanting to see as their falling forms met the ground, knowing it would be all over once they ate the pavement. She tightened her grip around Clark's neck, her cheek pressed against his chest and had a sudden stab of regret that she hadn't gotten to thank Smallville for risking his life to save hers. Now that was a true friend if there ever was one.

She cracked one eye open and gasped as what was left of the school rushed up to meet them, any second now and Lois was about to experience what it felt like to be shattered into a million tiny pieces. Seconds later, they plunged through the fractured ceiling of the basement, tiny shards of wood splintered her flesh on the way down, but that was the least of her problems.

This was it, the last second of her life on earth. Lois experienced what it felt like to have your entire life flash before her eyes and a stab of regret overwhelmed her.

Her already abused body screamed out in protest as they crashed to the ground, the sudden jarring bringing swift tears of pain to her eyes, she hadn't expected falling to her death to hurt so bad.

Except she wasn't dead.

Eyes flying open, she gasped in shock as she realized that Smallville had landed impossibly on his feet. And they were standing exactly where they had been taken from - the school basement.

"How…?" Lois whispered, unnerved by the fierce protective look in Clark's eyes. She wasn't easily taken by surprise but this was ridiculous.

Any answer that Clark was going to give was halted by a loud rumbling and Lois found herself thrown to the ground, her already bruised form protesting at the rough treatment. Before she could ask what he was doing, Lois found herself sandwiched by a six foot four Smallville, his large form trapping her against the unforgiving cement beneath her back.

And what was left of the basement ceiling caved in around them.

Lois could feel the force of the fractured building pummeling Clark, yet leaving her completely unscathed. It seemed to go on forever, the dust and debris once again making oxygen an impossibility and the noise was enough to give being in the eye of a tornado a run for its money.

After what seemed like an eternity, the noise eased and the dust settled, and once more, Lois had beaten the odds and had miraculously survived. She could feel the heavy weight of her savior crushing her into the earth, but although it hurt like a son of a bitch, his bulk was comforting. Somehow, he had saved her - and Lois quickly realized that the Wall of Weird had nothing on her cousin's best friend.

With a muffled groan, Clark rolled off of the person that he had thrown every caution to the wind in order to protect and then it hit. The wave of nausea struck first, followed by a pain so intense, it felt like every cell in his body was trying to escape. It rendered him completely incapable of movement and all he could do was groan.

Lois sat up quickly - too quickly, she realized as every muscle in her battered body screamed in protest. It didn't take a reporter's inquisitive brain to realize that they were completely caved in - and after what she had just gone through, that seemed the least of her worries.

Her eyes flew to the man who had saved her and she gasped, somehow not expecting to see Smallville writhing in pain on the ground. She scurried over to him and touched his shoulder.

"Oh my god, are you ok?" She cursed her own lameness. Of course he wasn't ok, he just had a building fall on him. Yet -- there wasn't a scratch on him, unlike her own torn up flesh.

"The… Kryptonite," Clark managed to gasp.

"The what?" Lois was confused.

"The meteor rocks," Clark muttered, pain making speech a near impossibility.

Lois took a quick glance around and spied the suspicious glow of green hidden in the rubble around them. "What about it?" she asked, helpless not a feeling that she was used to.

"Get it… away from me," Clark ground out.

A million question burned through Lois' mind but she bit them back and carefully made her way over to the pile of rubble and the crazy green rock that had put this town of weird on the map. "What am I supposed to do with it?" she cried.

"Just… get it as far from me as you can."

Lois looked around and shook her head in defeat. They were in a caved in basement, it wasn't as if there was a lot of room to work with or anything.

But taking another look at the writhing hero on the ground, Lois did what he asked, moving it as far from where he lay as she could.

When she crouched next to him once more, Lois was relieved to find that he looked a little bit better - although still looked a little green around the gills, scoffing at her own pun. At least he was breathing normally again, wasn't fighting for every breath like she'd done on more than one occasion within the ten minutes.

She helped him as he struggled to sit up before settling by his side.

"Ok, cut the crap, what just happened?" she demanded, knowing thank you should have been the first words to leave her mouth but not able to curb her impulsive nature in time. Thinking first before she spoke wasn't one of her strong points.

"Are you ok?"

His concern for her well being had Lois blinking - just when you think you know somebody, they turn around and throw a huge wrench in your assumptions.

"I'm a little banged up, but I think I'll live," Lois informed him, her mind trying to sort through the events of the last few minutes. "I mean, I knew you had a hero complex but I thought it was just something you did. I didn't know it was who you _were._" Lois shook her head. "All those times you just happened to show up and save the day - and I never even gave it a second thought. Ok maybe I gave it a second thought, but definitely not more than that. How stupid could I have been?" Lois realized she was babbling and spared a quick glance to the man who had saved her bacon. "I mean… what are you? Are you like some kind of machine?" Lois poked his chest, relieved to feel what had to be human flesh beneath her finger tips. A repressed memory of their time in the fight cage jumped into her brain and she remembered asking him if he was made of steel. Her eyes turned wary as she regarded Clark. "You are, aren't you?"

A quick shake of Clark's head answered that question. "Not a machine, Lois."

Relief flooded her. "Oh ok. So… I guess that makes you the President of the Meteor Infected Freak Club then, right?"

The shake of his head surprised her. It was the only explanation that made sense to her, after seeing so many things that had happened that could only be explained by the meteor rocks. "You're not a meteor freak?"

It would have been easy for Clark to lie and admit that he was meteor infected - it wouldn't be the first or even the last lie he would have told in his life time and it would be enough to placate the insatiable curiosity of one Lois Lane.

Yet - something kept him from saying the words.

"No. I'm not a Meteor Freak."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as her brain tried to wrap itself around his admission. "Ok… so let me get this straight - you're not a machine and you're not a meteor freak… How I am doing here?"

Silence met her question, and if there was one thing Lois hated it was uncomfortable silences

"So… what are you?" That internal battle that Lois had noticed being waged behind those baby blues was clearly discernable once more. "Smallville…?" she prompted. "You're making a girl pretty darn nervous here, you know."

At Smallville's refusal to answer her question, Lois found herself becoming increasing anxious as to what his answer would be. It was perfectly obvious that the cornpone-lined box that she had previously put Clark in was way off the mark.

"Are you even human?" Lois found herself asking, her eyes accusatory as she ran her eyes over his plaid clad torso.

Clark heaved a heavy sigh of defeat. "Not… exactly," he admitted, refusing to meet her eyes.

Lois stood above him with her hands fisted on her hips. "That's not much help, Smallville. Not exactly means what?"

Clark risked a quick glance at her and the resolve he found in her eyes told him that there was no turning back from this. Only one other person he was close to knew his secret other than his parents - and Lois was related to her. He only hoped that she would be as understanding and supportive as Chloe had been.

"I'm… kinda from another planet," Clark finally admitted, watching as Lois' jaw dropped in response, his sense of impending doom increasing ten fold.

tbc

If you've read this, please leave a review! I'd love to know if this is worthy of continuing or not!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - special thanks to ChristyloisGilmore17, Pyrodescorpio2, Gabriela, Cindyb, cliff, and Sam for their awesome reviews Thank you soooo much!!

Chapter 3

"I'm… kinda from another planet," Clark finally admitted, watching as Lois' jaw dropped, his sense of impending doom increasing ten fold as he waited for her reaction .

Lois' eyes narrowed with suspicion. "You're _kinda_ from another planet?" she echoed, the look on her face clearing saying she wasn't buying a word he said.

"It's true," he rushed to say. "I was born on a planet called Krypton and my parents sent me to earth before our planet was destroyed."

Lois dropped down beside him, searching his face for any hint that he was just joking around - not that Smallville was the biggest kidder in the world; he was usually too uptight to have much of a sense of humor. "You're kidding, right?"

Clark sighed impatiently. "Lois, we're trapped in the school basement. What possible reason would I have to kid about being from a different planet?"

Lois mulled that one around. "Good point. And it actually explains a lot. Like how you were able to rip the basement door off like it was nothing and how a building could cave in on you and you just brush the dust off." She eyed him pensively. "And it's not like I didn't know you had some secret you were hiding. Honestly though, I just thought you were hiding that you were gay." An indignant look transformed her face. "Wait a minute, Chloe knows about this, doesn't she?" Lois accused, gesturing wildly. "That's why she is always so quick to jump on the 'we need Clark' bandwagon every time there is trouble. God, I'm so stupid sometimes! Just tell me - I'm the last to know, aren't I?"

"Actually, Chloe is the only one who knows," Clark admitted.

"Oh. Well, Ok, then." That made her feel good, although she didn't really want to question why. "Do your parents know? Oh what am I asking… of course they know. And there go more of those pieces just falling tidily into place." Lois threw up her hands in aggravation. "You're not hiding anything else, right? Because if you are, you better tell me right now or I may not be responsible for my actions later."

Clark was silent for a moment, not about to reveal that he had thought he was going to get to the school too late to save her and that he'd never see her again. And more importantly, how much that thought had devastated him. "Nope, that's about it."

"So you're not gay?"

"No!"

"Ok, ok, sheesh. Can't blame a girl for asking." Lois slowly got to her feet, her body protesting its recent brutal treatment. "Ok, so now that's you've spilled your sacred extraterrestrial beans, get your ass up and get us out of here."

Clark found himself grinning, the weight of revealing his secret and not having it cause panic strangely comforting. He'd wanted to tell Lois for so long and had imagined so many different reactions, but now wondered why he had even been worried. This was Lois - not Lana. He'd never had to watch everything he said around her, she'd always just accepted him for who he was. Granted they lived to irritate each other, but it was a more honest relationship than he'd ever shared with Lana.

"Wipe that goofy grin off your face, Smallville and get those buns of steel moving. The air isn't exactly getting any fresher, you know. Can't you just like, beam out of out of here?" Lois moved through the small confines of what used to be the school basement, the only light coming from the glowing green rocks. "Do these things usually glow like this or am I just imagining things?" she asked, turning her head back around to locate Clark in the darkness.

"Only when I'm around," Clark muttered, knowing that he wasn't going to be much help here. He was far enough away from the rocks that they weren't slowly torturing him but he was close enough that they had leeched most of his powers away.

"What was that?" Lois called back, eyes narrowing at his inactivity "Hey, what is the big idea? Why are you just standing there? Is your superhero role just a part time gig or something?"

"It's the meteor rocks," Clark admitted, hating not for the first time that he had such a weakness. "They… do something to me."

"Oh." Lois made her way back to where Clark stood, realizing that he was as far from the meteor rocks as he could get. "That's a bummer." She stopped when she reached him, staring up into what she could see of his face and then did something that he never saw coming.

She kissed him.

Surprise held him captive for only an instant before he responded, wasting little time in crushing her against his body, one hand fisting her ponytail. It was just like he remembered - explosive and beyond description. The first time he'd kissed her as Oliver's stand-in had given him the shock of the century. He had known from that moment on that Lois was the one who was meant to be by his side. It had thrown him for a serious loop though, since they tended to treat each other like irritating siblings. The months that had passed since that kiss had been hard to endure, almost impossible to keep up the sarcasm and mocking that had been such a mainstay of their relationship.

She was the first one to draw back, her eyes searching his face. "Well…" she announced awkwardly. "So that's what it's like to kiss an alien."

"Is that really why you kissed me?"

He could see the blush that made a rare appearance on her cheeks. "Uh, well, no. Not really." She drew herself up and Clark could see right through the fake bravado she would throw up around her when something made her uncomfortable. "I was testing a theory, if you must know."

One eyebrow raised in response. "Oh really? And how did that work out for you?"

Lois jutted out her chin and tipped her head to the side. "It was completely conclusive, if you must know."

A small smile transformed his face. "And what was this conclusion you came to?"

Lois was quiet for a moment - very unLois like because she was never quiet for long.

"Lois?" Clark prompted, tightening his grip when Lois tried to ease out of their intimate embrace. He wasn't about to let her go that easily.

"Ok, fine. If you must know, I was testing the theory that I had that you were Green Arrow. And guess what? I was right. You are."

Clark could help but smile. "Oh I am, am I?"

Lois nodded defiantly. "You know, you could have mentioned that when I asked if there were any other secrets you were hiding."

Clark tipped his head to press his lips against her collarbone, the shiver that went through Lois' body telling him that he had as much impact on her as she had on him. "Except I'm not Green Arrow," he murmured against her skin.

Lois drew back, her palms splaying against his chest to keep him at bay. "I'm not stupid. It's not every day that I feel that way when I kiss somebody, you know. It's the exact same way I felt when I just kissed you. You're Green Arrow."

Clark's grin unnerved her. "I'm not sure what the big deal is here, it's not like I don't know you're not from around here. What's one more secret? I know it's you."

Clark capture one hand and brought it to his lips. This wound up side of Lois was one he had always enjoyed. "You're right about kissing me before," he finally admitted. "But I'm not Green Arrow."

"Ok, something isn't making sense here…" Lois muttered, shaking her head. Not even an hour ago, her biggest priority was outing some meteor freak messing with the high school gym and now she was… well, trying to out a super hero. "I kissed Green Arrow. I kissed _you_."

Clark pondered how much to reveal to her - this wasn't entirely his secret to share. But now that the truth had come out about his own origins, he didn't want to lie to Lois ever again. "Oliver is Green Arrow," he finally muttered.

One perfectly groomed eyebrow arched in response. "Oh… really?" Lois drawled. "And you were just… what? Filling in for the night?"

Clark sighed heavily. He hated when this happened, when telling the truth dug him in even deeper holes than lying did. "It was Oliver's idea, ok? He didn't want you knowing so he came up with the plan where I would pretend to be Green Arrow, and well, you know the rest."

"And yet another puzzle with the pieces falling so very neatly in place." Lois shook her head in irritation. "I knew something was up with that. The complete nonchalance of Oliver's reaction to me kissing another guy just didn't make sense." She eyed Clark steadily. "So what? You two have like Super Heroes of America pack meetings or something?"

"It's not like that. We've just… helped each other on occasion."

"You know what the kicker to all of this is, Smallville?" Lois didn't wait for a response. "None of this surprises me. Why doesn't it surprise me?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders in response, a smile playing among on his lips. "I think we should just get back to the kissing part," he suggested, pulling her closer.

"Not so fast." Lois halted his advance with one slap to his chest. "In case you hadn't noticed, this damsel is still in distress. I think we need to get out of here before there is any of… that going other stuff going on."

Clark let his hands fall to the side. "Well, Chloe knows we're here, I'm sure there will be a search party coming to look for us."

Lois eyed him warily. "And how exactly do you know that Chloe knew I was here?"

"Because I was with her when she called you," he revealed.

"You were there?" Boy, nothing surprised her anymore. "But she was in Metropolis when she called." At his sheepish look, she added, "Don't tell me - you flew."

"No, I ran."

"All the way from Metropolis?"

"I'm kind of a fast runner," he admitted.

"And why do I think that is the understatement of the year?" Lois muttered. "After we get out of here, I want full disclosure. Got it?"

Clark nodded. "We might have another problem though. In case you hadn't noticed, that tornado that almost killed you wasn't close to being normal."

"That thought had closed my mind a time or two -somewhere between running for my life and falling from the sky." She looked around. "So you can't get us out of here?"

Clark shook his head regretfully. "Sorry. The kryptonite takes away my powers."

"Powers - as in… more than one?"

"Well, yeah."

"Full disclosure, buddy. Got that? Full disclosure."

Clark nodded, not sure if he was looking forward to that discussion.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Lois asked. "I think the calvary has arrived. Hey! We're down here!" She yelled. The answering call had her smiling. After almost dying so many times that day, it was amazing to her how non stressed she was about being trapped in the basement. "I think it's going to take them a little while to dig us out."

"So what should be do while we're waiting?" Clark asked with a slight tease to his voice.

In response, Clark found himself with an armful of Lois Lane - and quickly decided that it had been well worth being trapped in a basement by kryptonite if he got to be this close to Lois - and hoped that they didn't get rescued too soon.

tbc

Please let me know if you'd like another chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

thank you so much to Bailey1ak, Dyslecksec, niakbor, katsuro-chan, bwill, ratdogtwo for taking the time to review this fic!

Chapter 4

Several days had passed since Clark had revealed his secret to Lois - several long and annoying days, as far as Clark was concerned.

Once they had been rescued from the collapsed basement, Lois had discovered that the Weather Freak was actually involved with the Gym Caper Mystery that she had been trying to uncover before being sucked into a tornado - and had swiftly gone into reporter mode. There was no talking to her when she was hot on the heels of a front page headline and Clark didn't even try.

No, when he talked to her again, he was determined to have her full attention.

Especially since he had a lot he needed to say.

Usually his loft was his sanctuary, a place he could go to think. But ever since he'd been hit by Hurricane Lois several days prior, there wasn't much in the way of peaceful bliss being obtained. What was it about her that got under his skin so much?

He couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Hey… Smallville," a slightly guarded, feminine voice greeted from the top stair to his loft.

Clark spun around. It was typical. She got him so riled up without even trying that he didn't even hear her come into the barn. "Lois." His hands dug deep into his pockets as he took a hesitant step in her direction. "I didn't hear you come up."

"Ok, so I guess super sonic hearing isn't one of your super powers then, is it?"

Clark ducked his head, a rue smile tugging at his lips. "Actually… it is." The look she threw his way made him admit, "But I was kinda distracted."

"Yeah, there is a lot of that going around."

An awkward silence followed. "So.. We caught the guy," Lois rushed to say. "You know, Weather Freak Guy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was someone who went to Smallville High. Especially since the only building that was still standing was the high school gym. Typical - if I had just stayed in the gym, I would have been fine. Story of my life." She gave a nervous laugh, and it gave Clark a tiny bit of pleasure that Lois was having trouble looking him in the eye. "So, with a little help from yours truly, they were able to catch the guy and he's now a guest at everybody's favorite loony bin. Doesn't look like he'll be getting out any time soon."

"Well, that's good," Clark commented. There was so much he wanted to say to her that he didn't even know where to start.

Another awkward silence filled the room. Unable to stand it any longer, Lois closed the distance that separated her from the alien that had stolen her heart and looked him squarely in the eye. "Look, Smallville. I know we kind of left things at a weird place and I just wanted to get things straight here."

"Yeah?" Clark eyed her warily. Lois was never an easy one to read and this was no exception.

"Yeah. And I also realized that I never really said thank you for saving my life. So here I am - saying thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lois shoved her hands in the back pocket of her low-waisted jeans and began pacing. This was the part that terrified her. "And uh, I also wanted to say that I know I kind of attacked you when we were stuck in the rubble and I don't want you to think that you have to do anything about it. Because you don't. Chalk it up to the whole near-death experience thing because well, I almost died and you had saved me. A couple of times, actually and it was just a heat of the moment reaction -"

"Lois?" Clark interrupted, knowing her well enough to know when she was putting up a brave front in order to protect herself from getting hurt.

She spun around to face him. "Yeah?"

"Shut up." Without giving her a chance to respond, Clark took the plunge and kissed her, not knowing any other way to demonstrate to her exactly how he really felt.

When she melted into his embrace, he allowed himself to relax a fraction - as relaxed as having an armful of Lois Lane would allow him. This was the part that they were good at - the part that he could easily become addicted to. He'd always thought that instant chemistry among couples was something of a myth - something that only humans could experience; his initial attraction for Lana based more on her being unattainable rather than any instant chemical reaction.

That is, until he had locked lips with Lois Lane.

When her arms snaked around his neck, Clark could feel her ample breasts crushing against his chest and he couldn't help but groan, one hand finding its way up the back of her shirt, the other hauling her even closer.

When she hissed and tensed up, Clark ripped his lips away. "Did I hurt you?" He took a step back, his arms falling to his side, unable to stomach the guilt that consumed him that he had caused Lois pain. "I'm sorry, Lois."

She gave him a weird look. "Geez, Smallville. You didn't hurt me, I just have a few bumps and bruises left from the other day, that's all." Closing the distance once more, Lois slid her arms around his neck and shimmied against the hot bod of Clark Kent. "Now… Where were we…" she murmured, reaching up to capture his lips, determined to continue where they had just left off.

Clark gripped her upper arms and stepped back, trying to ignore the flash of hurt that he could plainly see in Lois's eyes. Offering her a weak attempt at a smile, he pulled out of her arms and made his way determinedly across the loft to settle awkwardly on the couch, leaving a confused Lois behind.

And a confused Lois wasn't a happy Lois.

"Ok… what just happened?" Lois demanded, hands finding her hips as she stared at the person whose lips she still really wanted to be kissing.

"I'm sorry, Lois." He mentally cringed at how inane he sounded. "I thought I could do this."

"Do what, exactly?" Lois' features were a mask of confusion.

"This," Clark gestured wildly.

"You mean… us?"

"Yes." He sighed, wondering why he even thought he had a chance at a normal relationship. He wasn't normal.

"Is this because of Lana?" Lois demanded, trying to figure out the mystery that was Clark Smallville Kent. He got her all worked up and then just put on the brakes right when they were getting to the groping part? She didn't get it.

"No!"

Clark's denial was so immediate that Lois felt satisfied that this wasn't because of a unresolved Lana-angst issue. "Then help a girl out here - what just happened?"

Clark sighed heavily, not even knowing how to begin.

"Is it me?" Lois almost managed to keep the insecurity out of her voice.

Almost.

Another heavy sigh slipped past Clark's lips. "No, it's not you." He found himself unable to meet her gaze. "It's… me."

"Oh?" A looking of dawning realization flooded her face. "Ooooohhhh…" she breathed. "Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed, but I guess I understand, what with the whole being from another planet thing you have going on."

Now it was Clark's turn to look confused. "You understand what?"

"You know." A hint of embarrassment marred her face. "That… Little Clarkie doesn't work like human… um… parts."

Color flooded Clark's cheeks. This was more awkward than he thought it would be. "Uh, Little clarkie works just fine," he mumbled, keeping his gaze pinned to the floor.

"Oh. Really?" Confusion found its way back to her features. "Ok, so let me get this straight - it's not me, it's not Lana Lang, it's not Little Clarkie - so what is it?" When an answer wasn't forthcoming, Lois began to fume. "Dammit Smallville, you can't just shut me out whenever something gets uncomfortable for you. In case you didn't know, you kissed me tonight. It wasn't like when I tried to jump you the other day. You kissed me. That tells me that whatever… this is, it's a mutual thing."

Clark remained silent, his eyes fixed on the wood flooring beneath his feet. Lois threw up her hands in aggravation, feeling a bit of her inner drama queen coming on. "Ok fine, if that's the way you want it, I'll leave you alone." She spun on her heel and stomped towards the stairs, insecurity making her overreact in a way that she normally wouldn't.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

Lois spun back around, confused. "What are you talking about?"

A long and drawn out sigh worked its way from Clark's lungs and he found himself looking anywhere but directly at her. "I'm afraid that if we continue… doing what we were doing, I'll forget myself and accidentally hurt you."

Lois couldn't help but roll her eyes. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it up, exposing her torso. "You didn't hurt me, these did." She pointed to the spectacular array of bruises that marred her abdomen, the ass kicking her body had taken days earlier having taken its colorful toll.

When the self-flagellating look didn't leave his face, Lois sighed. Somehow, she never thought she'd be having this type of a discussion with her cousin's best friend. But sometimes the heart worked in mysterious ways and she was damned if she was going to ignore her feelings for Smallville once she had finally admitted to herself that they were there without doing something about it.

With a look of resolve stamped across her features, Lois marched over to the couch where Clark still sat in a cloud of self-pity. Before he knew what hit him, Lois had climbed into his lap and straddled his hips , her hands cupping his face. "Look at me, " she demanded, smiling at the hint of shyness that colored the gorgeous eyes that finally focused in her direction. He was such a paradox - he could be so cool and competent one minute and then turn around and blush like a school girl the next.

It was adorable.

"Ok, now touch me." When she didn't get an immediate response, Lois grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips, a satisfied smile curving across her lips when his very capable fingers splayed and dug into the denim. She shifted her weight, smiling again when what could only be Little Clarkie made his presence known.

Yep, everything felt good there.

"Now, kiss me," she demanded, capturing his lips and sighing in bliss as the instant heat flooded back through her. Damned if Smallville didn't get her juices flowing like nobody ever had.

Drawing her lips reluctantly away, Lois's eyes fluttered open and she was relieved to see Smallville clearly as affected as she was. "Now, see how nice that is? Do you really want to give this up without even trying?" she asked, keeping her hands laced around his neck.

Clark shook his head, the punch that Lois packed whenever she kissed him leaving him breathless and virtually incapable of any type of coherent speech.

Lois smiled brightly. "So then, are we going to explore whatever this is - or are we going to go our own separate ways in the off chance that you might hurt me in the heat of passion?" she asked with her usual bluntness.

"Um…" Clark muttered, affairs of the heart not something that he was comfortable or particularly well-versed in sharing. "Continue."

Her immediate smile warmed him.

"Good answer." Lois pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I'm glad that you're not just going to throw this away," she admitted. "And believe me, I can't even believe I'm sitting here having this conversation with you because wow, never saw this one coming."

"Yeah, know the feeling."

She smiled at him, a quick and easy smile that humbled him.

"You don't really think you'd hurt me, do you?" she felt compelled to ask.

"I honestly don't know."

"You never hurt Lana though, right?"

The way he quickly averted his eyes at that question brought out her inquisitive nature. "You did… you know… with Lana, didn't you?" she found herself asking, her morbid curiosity overtaking her tact.

Clark's face turned the color of his red flannel shirt, another endearing quality that Lois was beginning to truly enjoy.

"We only… uh, did… it when I was human," he finally admitted.

"When you were _what_?"

He offered her a self-conscious grin. "We never did get to that full disclosure part of our conversation, remember? I was stripped of my powers, I was human for little bit."

"So you and Lana never did anything when you had powers?"

He shook his head, more than ready to end this conversation.

Lois smiled. "Well, just know that I am entering into this… whatever it is… with my eyes wide open. I can't believe I'm about to say this but… I trust you."

The smile that transformed Clark's face warmed her. He reached up to capture her lips, the knowledge that he was entering into a relationship with no secrets being hidden was liberating. It was a first for him and he hoped that he earned that trust she so freely gave him. The tough exterior that she presented to the world was a myth, that he did know and he was determined to not leave her damaged -either physically or mentally.

For the second time that evening, he was too wrapped up in the mystery of Lois to realize somebody had entered the barn.

"Oh great, Clark. Did you get into the red rock again?" Chloe accused, the sight of seeing her cousin writhing on top of her best friend something she had hoped to never see again.

TBC

Feedback is much appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

A/n - Thank you to Dyslecksec, Katsuro-chan, Cravensvt, Winthjo, Bailey1ak, Ratdogtwo, Bwill, and DiscoLemonadeDiva for the very awesome reviews/feedback! I cannot tell you how much it is appreciated. I apologize in advance for typos!

Chapter 5

"_Oh great, Clark. Did you get into the red rock again?" Chloe accused, the sight of seeing her cousin writhing on top of her best friend something she had hoped to never see again._

Lois tore her lips away and twisted around in Clark's lap, a rueful smile plastered across her face. "Geez Chloe, did anyone ever tell you that you have like… the absolute worst timing ever?"

Chloe didn't need to wonder what her cousin had gotten into - it wasn't as if there hadn't been more than just a hint of attraction brimming beneath that Lois shaped surface whenever "Smallville' was brought up in conversation - which lately had been quite often. Lois wasn't that good of an actress.

But Clark…

Chloe worried about him. For all of his power and strength, there was a nativity and innocence about him that had typically left her feeling protective and in mother hen mode. And more often than she cared to think about, it had been up to Chloe to protect Clark from himself. She didn't want to have to do that again.

However, catching a glimpse of the hint of red that quickly colored Clark's face and the embarrassed half smile he was sending her way, Chloe realized that this cozy little scene she had just stumbled upon had nothing to do with red kryptonite - and everything to do with a new shift in the relationship between her cousin and best friend. To her surprise, she just felt pleased and without a hint of jealousy - making her realize that she was finally over Clark - once and for all.

It felt good.

"And can I just say…oops - with a major side of I'm so incredibly sorry?" Chloe rushed to say, feeling decidedly awkward at making the huge blundering leap in logic that Clark was under the obnoxious effects of Red Kryptonite. Why had that been her first assumption? It wasn't like she hadn't noticed Clark's lingering stares whenever her cousin was around - although she had attributed that to being a guy thing. Clark wouldn't be the first to be fascinated with Lois' impressive cleavage. Not that she was jealous of Lois' cleavage - she wasn't. But she wouldn't mind getting a bit of masculine attention that her cousin always seemed to attract. Realizing her thoughts were getting seriously off-topic, Chloe spun around and moved to head back down the stairs that she had just climbed. "I'll just be running along now. Carry on with whatever you were doing before I so rudely interrupted," she called over her shoulder.

"Chloe… wait," Clark called to her, not making any effort to remove the lapful of Lois that he still had his arms possessively around.

Chloe turned back around. "Guys, I'm really sorry. I seriously jumped to conclusions and look how awkward I just made things. I'm actually really glad that you two finally stopped pretending that you didn't have feelings for each other and did something about it."

"So… you're ok with this?" Clark found himself asking, not sure why he felt the need to have Chloe's blessings.

"Clark, I am _so_ ok with it. I mean - come on! My two most favorite people ever? How could I not be ok with it?" Chloe gave a little wave. "Now please… just forget that I was here." She spun around and took the top step, finding herself more thrilled than she ever would have thought possible. Clark and Lois - a couple. Hopefully Clark wouldn't ruin this relationship by refusing to share his secret but Chloe had a feeling that the wool would not be able to be pulled over Lois' eyes for very long. And if Clark knew what was good for him, he'd stop trying to deny who he really was to those he cared about.

"She knows about me," Clark blurted before Chloe had taken another step, making her wonder if mind reading wasn't a newfound ability - complements of the Planet Krypton.

Chloe pivoted, much less disturbed by the sight of Lois in Clark's lap this time around.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up there, Cuz," Lois drawled, her arms loosely looping around Clark's neck as she turned to face her cousin. "Although I have to question just how really stupid I was that I didn't catch on to it sooner."

Chloe's gaze darted between the two most important people in the world to her, hoping that 'the secret' hadn't created any problems. But judging by how comfortable Lois looked in Clark's lap, Chloe was hopeful that the news had gone over well. "So uh… how long have you known?"

The look Lois gave her had Chloe questioning her own stupidity.

The tornado. Duh.

Chloe was accustomed to Clark's being able to keep his abilities a secret, regardless of how much life save-age or weirdness that had gone on - so it wasn't a huge stretch to think that he'd been able to lie his way out of the major role he'd had in saving Lois, like he usually did.

"Yeah, kind of hard to keep the super hero gig a secret when he's pulling off doors like they were fly wings," Lois commented dryly. "You know, you could have told me about all of this when Clark here almost killed me with his barn door instead of trying to blame some freak weather conditions."

"Sorry, Lois." And Chloe was sorry. Lying didn't come easily to her and since learning Clark's secret, she'd had to do more lying than she ever thought she'd be capable of. "Ok, well… I'm just going to run along now."

This time when Chloe headed down the loft stairs, she wasn't stopped.

"So, where were we?" Clark questioned, a content smile transforming his face. Content wasn't an emotion that he was used to feeling, his entire life spent just waiting for the other shoe to drop, always one crisis to avert after another. To top that off, he'd become quite adept at how many creative ways he could lie - and just how many times he could get away with it.

"You know, I've been meaning to talk to you about when your barn door tried to squash me." Lois' eyes narrowed. "What happened with that?"

"Uh… I sneezed," Clark admitted, wishing he could have seen Lois' face when the door to his barn had literally fallen from the sky right in front of her. If he hasn't been feeling so crummy that day, he probably would have found it funny - and ironic that it had been Lois who had been discovered their barn door. But as it turned out, Lois had made it so darn uncomfortable for him with her keen inquisitiveness and her persistent search for a logical explanation, that all humor had fled.

"You have super sneezes?"

Clark shrugged self-consciously. "Not really. It was the first time I had ever had a cold."

Lois shook her head. "Ok, so many things are just making all kinds of sense now. The look on your mom's face when I was trying to make you a Lois Surprise cold remedy - I didn't get it. Now I do."

"Well, you were trying to make me sneeze. My mom really likes the house standing the way it is, Lois. We've had to rebuild enough times as it is."

"What other super powers do you have?" She sent a brilliant smile in his direction. "You didn't think I'd forget about demanding full disclosure, now did you?"

"Well, I was kinda hoping."

"You really don't like talking about yourself, do you?"

"Not really," Clark admitted. "It usually leads to more questions that I can't answer."

"Well, the only way you are ever going to have this hot bod of mine is if there are absolutely no secrets between us." A shimmer of insecurity crossed her face. "I need for there not to be any secrets, Clark."

The corners of Clark's lips curled in an understanding smile. Lois had been hurt on more than one occasion by people living double lives and he was determined to not be that guy. Not this time. "Whatever you want to know, just ask."

Lois sent him a grateful smile. Sliding off of his lap, she settled herself next to Clark, tucking her feet underneath her as one masculine arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close. They stayed like that for several contented moments before Lois' curiosity finally got the best of her. "So… Smallville. How long have you been on earth?"

tbc

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